Theatre History (Research Paper Sample)

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Theatre History: A comparison of theatre design in Greek and Asian periods
Nearly all the modern theatre design can be drawn back to the theatrical traditions set up by the Greek-speaking populace of the Mediterranean commencing in the 6th century BCE. Evidences exist concerning the independent traditions in the America, Africa, and Middle East before the arrival of the Europeans. However, too little is known concerning the existence of evidences to be able to self-assuredly track their establishment or their possible influence. Ambiguity exists as to the meaning of "theatre" in some of Greek and Asian places. Any information for the theatre design that emerges with the introduction of the theatre into a culture is therefore transformed because they are blended with the design of the preexisting spaces. Poets and translators have been keen in their performance with effect to increase verse drama in their specific periods. The performance in both Greek and Asia periods were based on the songs and speeches accompanied with some instrumentals (Hall, p. 1). Comparing the theatre design in Greek and Asian periods based on the scenery, costumes, sound, and lighting is essential in understanding the theatre history in different periods.
To start with, Greeks performed their poetics all day in natural light. They used simple sets such as black curtains in order to represent night. They also used painted lighting so as to improve their performance. When we consider sound, Greeks placed emphasis on the actor’s speech, song, and recitative. Music was integral and the music was accompanied with choral odes. Some of the researchers think masks provided amplification of the sound, though this is disproven because of the excellent amphitheatre acoustics. When we consider the Greek chorus sound, a group of performers always sing and dance, sometimes contributing in the action, but simply commenting on it. The performers in the music sing in a group rather than individually. When we consider the Asian periods, it is the work of the dramatic artist to control the effect of various theatrical means into impressions of the equal accent. The actor might use spoken words, props, décor, and lighting which together produce theatrical art so that the theatrical art appears to be the sum of the other arts (Brandon, p. 19). In terms of sound, most stage acting of the Asian periods can be seen as the set of number of poses, statuesque in the quality, and the actor moves from a single pose to the other so as to create movement music that accompanies these dances may sound, and this is much different as seen in the Greek periods. For example, during performances in Asian periods, sounds can be made in poses. There are rare chances of involving poses in sound during the Greek periods.
However, there are some of the performance techniques that are similar when we compare between the Asian and Greek periods. When we consider the costumes for both periods, Greeks and Asians designed specific costumes and scenes for each character in both comedy and tragedy (Allan, p. 220). The art of costumes revived in the medieval times and ended in the fabulous of the court masques. In both periods, most actors appeared in the contemporary dress. As years progressed, Greeks and Asians developed costumes that could match their style of music. Also, as years progressed, there was a wide imaginative designs ranging from the naturalistic to the symbolic as well as connecting the costumes with the lighting and among other aspects of theatrical design in order to avoid isolation of the costumes. Both periods, that is Asian and Greeks periods, used striking feature such as mask. In both periods, mask was used to provide realism of the actor. Masks were used either to make a man look like a beautiful woman or a woman look like a man or a young man look like an old man. The masks brought realism in characterization.
In Greek and As...